Kingwood resident John McDavid IV’s three sons and family members created a florograph in honor of John, who will be honored as an organ donor, on the Donate Life float in the 2015 Rose Parade.

Kingwood resident John McDavid IV’s three sons and family members created a florograph in honor of John, who will be honored as an organ donor, on the Donate Life float in the 2015 Rose Parade.

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John McDavid IV’s sons create a florograph in honor of their father on Nov. 8, 2014.

John McDavid IV’s sons create a florograph in honor of their father on Nov. 8, 2014.

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John McDavid IV’s sons create a florograph in honor of their father on Nov. 8, 2014.

John McDavid IV’s sons create a florograph in honor of their father on Nov. 8, 2014.

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John McDavid IV’s sons create a florograph in honor of their father on Nov. 8, 2014.

John McDavid IV’s sons create a florograph in honor of their father on Nov. 8, 2014.

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In honor of John’s life and his gift of life, his family including his three sons and friends gathered at Kingwood Funeral Home on Nov. 8 to create a florograph, a portrait made of floral and natural materials, of John’s face that will be affixed to the Donate Life float that will appear in the 2015 Rose Parade Float. less

In honor of John’s life and his gift of life, his family including his three sons and friends gathered at Kingwood Funeral Home on Nov. 8 to create a florograph, a portrait made of floral and natural ... more

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In honor of John’s life and his gift of life, his family including his three sons and friends gathered at Kingwood Funeral Home on Nov. 8 to create a florograph, a portrait made of floral and natural materials, of John’s face that will be affixed to the Donate Life float that will appear in the 2015 Rose Parade Float. less

In honor of John’s life and his gift of life, his family including his three sons and friends gathered at Kingwood Funeral Home on Nov. 8 to create a florograph, a portrait made of floral and natural ... more

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Family decorates floral portrait to memorialize Kingwood man in the 2015 Rose Parade

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Kingwood resident John Carlisle McDavid IV’s story is “never ending.”

Through John’s life, he focused on volunteering and giving back to his community when he could serving as a longtime volunteer at Texas Children’s Hospital as well as always helping others in need.

John’s spirit of giving continued on after his death on Oct. 1, 2013 at 40 years old as an organ, tissue and cornea donor that helped save the lives of other individuals.

In honor of John’s life and his gift of life, his family including his three sons and friends gathered at Kingwood Funeral Home on Nov. 8 to create a florograph, a portrait made of floral and natural materials, of John’s face that will be affixed to the Donate Life float that will appear in the 2015 Rose Parade Float.

The theme for this year’s Donate Life float is “The Never Ending Story.”

“This is an honor; it’s more of an honor for my son than it is for me,” Kingwood resident John McDavid III, John’s dad, said after the ceremony at Kingwood Funeral Home. “My son had a heart for people. He donated his time at Texas Children’s Hospital and MD Anderson Cancer Hospital; he would stop on the side of road to see what people need and then go buy those items for those people. The donation of his organs represents John’s love for life and helping others.”

He had been interested in becoming an organ donor since his early teens when he had a friend pass away that was a donor. After that friend passed away, the younger John visited with his mom and expressed his desire in becoming an organ donor. Besides his giving spirit, John’s family also remembers him for his wonderful sense of humor, infectious laugh and deep loyalty to his friends and family.

The younger John was nominated to be an honoree by Kingwood Funeral Home and the General Manager Ryan Stephens.

“This is a blessing because we’ve extended other people’s lives,” his father, John, said. “The day we buried John, John’s mom, Sandra and I went home and of course, we couldn’t sleep that night.

“We went outside around 4 a.m. and sat out on the porch for a little while. We, then, heard a noise so we walked toward our fountain and when we looked up, there were almost five million stars in the sky. We felt that it was God telling us that John was in his majesty.”

According to information from Laura Frnka-Davis, Director of Communications LifeGift, there are currently 13,000 people in the Houston area that are awaiting some form of life-saving organ transplant. This number does not include those waiting for a tissue transplant.

“Across the country, there are 123,000 people that are in need of some form of life-saving organ transplant,” Frnka-Davis said. “Every day, 18 people die waiting for their second chance but on the flip side, there are 75 people every day that do receive their transplant and live another day thanks to people like John.”

Dignity Memorial, who owns Kingwood Funeral Home, partners with Donate Life’s national campaign to celebrate and honor the lifesaving gifts of organ, eye and tissue donation as part of Donate Life’s 2015 Rose Parade Float, “The Never Ending Story.”

This year’s Donate Life float will feature 60 butterflies, signifying the number of lives that can be touched by a single deceased donor, and 72 books adorned with floragraph such as the one created by John’ s family that portraits representing organ donor honorees. The float will be featured in the 126th Rose Parade on Jan. 1, 2015 in Pasadena, Calif.

“Dignity partners with Donate Life every year and when I was asked if I had a family in mind to be honored and memorialized on the float, the McDavid family was first on my list,” Ryan Stephens, Kingwood Funeral Home’s General Manager, said. “We are thankful for partnerships with programs like Donate Life where we have the chance to honor a family like this. We are honored to be able to commemorate John’s life and the choice his family made to help those in need.”

John’s sons and family will have the chance to participate in the parade and march with the float.

“Our family strongly encourages organ donation,” the elder John III said. “He’s still alive; he’s still with his and his legacy lives on in others.”